I learned to embroider when I was a kid, when everyone was really into cross stitch (remember the '80s?). Eventually, I migrated to surface embroidery, teaching myself with whatever I could get my hands on...read more

I learned to embroider when I was a kid, when everyone was really into cross stitch (remember the '80s?). Eventually, I migrated to surface embroidery, teaching myself with whatever I could get my hands on...read more

Kids’ Embroidery Classes: More Project Photos

Here are a few more photos from my kids’ embroidery classes. Their embroidered notebook covers are going to be darling!

Next week, we’ll be getting to the finishing stage of the first summer embroidery project. They’ll be stitching up the edges and adding the ribbon that ties the book closed. I can’t wait!

In the meantime, here are some more photos from class:

This is a close up of one of the flowers embroidered by one of the youngest girls in the 9 – 13 group. Her daisy stitches and French knots are great, but she really does an exceptional job on her perfectly even backstitches!

Here’s a little dog pattern. This one was an iron-on as well. They started adding beads yesterday, so you can see how they’re used in the middle of the flowers and as part of the eyes!

A close up on a flower worked in lazy daisy with a bead center.

Here are some initials worked in whipped running stitch, with greenery and large flowers. All the kids love the whipped running stitch, since it makes a two-tone line that looks like a rope (or a candy cane, depending on the colors!).

Here’s a cute butterfly on the back of a cover – you can see that the whipped running is really a favorite, as well as the lazy daisy.

Here’s the front of the butterfly notebook cover, with initials and flowers. She did a great job on the stem stitch filling!

And here’s a close up on the spine of that book cover – an interesting approach to stem stitch. She threaded two colors in the same needle.

Bears are embroidered on this one – an iron-on transfer was used to good effect. The designs are small enough to give the stitcher plenty of room to embroider spontaneous embellishment.

I think the honey pot is really cute!

So there are a few more updates – hope you enjoy looking at them! The classes are going really well. I’ve got two of them going this summer for local children, aged 7 – 10 and aged 9 – 13. These pictures are from the 9 – 13 class. They’re making embroidered notebook covers out of wool felt, working in #5 perle cotton. The designs were completely up to them, and what I do is basically teach them a stitch, give them an opportunity to practice it on their “scrap” fabric until they’ve got it down, draw (on the board) a few ways it can be used, and then they incorporate the stitch onto their notebook cover. It’s a great way for them to keep track of which stitches they’ve learned, and it will supply them with a visual “diary” of each stitch for reference… And – they’re making something they can use when school starts! (Summer goes too quickly!)